When meeting with the media after practice on Tuesday, Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell confirmed redshirt freshman Thomas Heiberger has moved to inside linebacker.
The team’s updated spring roster first indicated the shift, which is worth watching as the offseason period and 2025 season preparation continue.
Heiberger joined the program as one of its top class of 2024 signees. He was the No. 463 overall player, the No. 40 linebacker and the top player from South Dakota in the class.
The four-star recruit was an early standout at outside linebacker after arriving on campus last offseason. However, an August knee injury sidelined him for much of the season, halting his chance of cracking the initial two-deep. He returned to the field toward the end of the campaign, appearing in four games, all on special teams.
Heiberger’s move to inside linebacker is interesting to note. Wisconsin enters the season with 2024 starter Christian Alliegro and former USC transfer Tackett Curtis set to start at the position. Not much depth exists beyond that duo; redshirt sophomore Tyler Jansey and Western Carolina transfer Antarron Turner are the other primary options.
Outside linebacker, meanwhile, has returning veterans Darryl Peterson and Aaron Witt, incoming transfers Mason Reiger (Louisville), Michael Garner (Grambling State) and Tyreese Fearbry (Kentucky), and 2024 breakout player Sebastian Cheeks. Heiberger would face a long path to playing time at the position, even with several of those players entering their final year of eligibility.
The position change makes sense for that reason. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Heiberger quickly joined the two-deep at inside linebacker and potentially the regular rotation.
“Thomas (Heiberger) has moved to inside linebacker,” Fickell said when asked about the pass-rusher group. “Aaron Witt is (also) playing a little bit of a hybrid; he’ll play some of the edge stuff. … We’re just trying to use some more versatility. Again, it gives us a chance to get bigger.”
Wisconsin delivered on that final point of emphasis this offseason, landing four experienced defensive linemen and three edge rushers. The team’s new-look front seven figures to be a clear step up from a group that struggled down the stretch in 2024. The additions of defensive tackles Corey Walker (Western Michigan), Parker Petersen (Tulane), Charles Perkins (UT-Martin) and Jay’Viar Suggs (LSU), plus returning contributors Ben Barten and Brandon Lane, headline that projection.
“You’re playing nickel all the time, now you can go into a base defense, you can add a guy that’s 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, 245 pounds as another piece on the field, along with the big 300-pounders,” Fickell continued. “It was an emphasis for us to be able to get bigger. Obviously, the way that we have to practice, this gives us a opportunity to get those guys more reps.”
The program has certainly done so along the front. Behind that group, Heiberger’s place on the depth chart will be worth monitoring as the spring and summer continue. If his flashes as a true freshman were any indication, he could emerge as a major contributor as early as this season.
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